


the glint of light on broken glass

by deathrae



Series: moonsinger chronicles [3]
Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F, Werewolf AU, fictional monsters may have been harmed in the production of this porn, inappropriate use of bathing equipment, off-screen violence? does that count?, spoilers for "wolves" up to chapter 39, spoilers for s2e10 again
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-23
Updated: 2017-11-23
Packaged: 2019-02-05 21:34:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12802839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deathrae/pseuds/deathrae
Summary: Waverly and Nicole get back home from a solo mission hunting one of the groups of creatures that crossed the boundary on the Solstice... and have a bit of much-needed downtime.Set in the "when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls" universe.(Title from an Anton Chekhov quote.)





	the glint of light on broken glass

**Author's Note:**

> My unspoken rule for myself was that "when the wolves" wouldn't include any intimate scenes that exceeded the rating/content of the actual canon, so anything that's rated E would be on the side: part of the series, but not part of the main story, for readers to read or ignore at their own discretion. I admit I didn't really expect it would come up and YET HERE WE ARE.
> 
> Heaps upon heaps of gratitude to [Mischieftess](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mischieftess) (whose work I _highly highly recommend_ ) for reading over this for me. I've actually never worked with a beta reader before and I think this piece really shines for having had her feedback. Thank you again!
> 
> This story is set between Chapter 57 and 58.

Nicole fumbled her key into her front door, hands shaking. She grumbled when the key scraped and clicked against the lock, the sound of it too loud, too _grating_. She glanced up and down the block, a little worried one of her neighbors would look out and see them. And god, what a picture they made. Half of Waverly’s face, one of her shoulders, and the better part of her chest was covered in sticky red blood that, thank god, was not hers. It had until recently belonged to a grindylow, one of a small family group that had moved into the nearby water treatment center. Nicole, for her part, was doing her best impression of a drowned rat: one of the grindylows had managed to haul her into the reservoir for an impromptu swim.

“Here,” Waverly said, almost laughing. Her hand rested on Nicole’s, warm through her glove. “Let me.”

“I can do it,” Nicole muttered, but she let Waverly take her key anyway. She was still riled up, her body coursing with energy. The wolf wanted a proper hunt, not this stupid side-errand they’d been on. Feared hunter they may be, but underwater was not exactly their strongest venue for battle, and on top of that, fighting the grindylows had been more of an exercise in frustration. Especially since, as she had learned when she bit into one and it burst like a slime-filled balloon, killing one didn’t actually take much effort. It was just the _catching them_ that was hard.

“I’m not so sure,” Waverly said, grinning as she unlocked the door and pushed it open, dropping Nicole’s keyring into her palm. “You okay?”

“Just keyed up,” Nicole said, rolling her shoulders as she dropped her keys in their dish and wriggled out of her jacket, hanging it on its peg. Waverly locked the door behind them and followed suit, stashing her keys and boots in their respective places in the entryway.

There was a quiet joy in knowing that Waverly’s belongings had _places_ in her home.

“Well, listen. I feel disgusting. I’m gonna take a shower. If you wanna towel off and, I dunno, run laps around the neighborhood or something, that’s fine. But I desperately need to get clean.”

Waverly’s gaze caught hers for just a moment, and there was something in her eye that made Nicole—and the wolf too, really—sit up and take notice.

Nicole edged closer, a small smile pulling at the corner of her mouth, and Waverly tilted her head up to look at her.

“Is that an invitation?” Nicole murmured.

“Maybe,” Waverly said, feigning innocence. “I mean, you _do_ have a pretty nice shower.”

“That _is_ one of the perks of having a vampire help you find a place in town.” Nicole looped her arms around Waverly’s waist, tugging her closer.

Waverly’s hands came to rest on her chest, pressing gently to keep her away. “I’m still gross and covered in swamp-thing blood,” Waverly reminded her.

Nicole pulled a face and stuck her tongue out. “You _do_ smell a bit like saltwater.”

“Says the one who stinks of wet dog and charcoal water filters,” Waverly said.

Nicole pressed a hand to the hollow of her throat, aghast. “I do _not_ smell like wet dog!”

“Wanna bet?” Waverly tucked a few of her fingers into the collar of the oversized sweatshirt that functioned as Nicole’s BBD uniform and pulled gently, taking careful steps backward as she led Nicole through her own house.

“Calamity Jane’s behind you,” Nicole said, and Waverly cursed under her breath, twisting around to check her feet before she could step on the ginger puffball Nicole called roommate.

“Where, I don’t see her—eep!”

While Waverly was distracted, her fingers slack in Nicole’s collar, Nicole scooped up off the floor and into her arms.

“ _Jesus_ , Nicole. I always forget how strong you are.”

“I work out,” Nicole said, grinning, and carried her the rest of the way down the hall. Waverly, for her part, just laughed, looping her arms around Nicole’s neck for balance and curling her body so she could lean her head against Nicole’s.

“When could you _possibly_ have time, you liar?” she protested, and Nicole laughed, easing through the bathroom door and finally setting Waverly back down on her feet in the middle of the room. “More like you _wolf_ out,” she said, betraying herself with a wide grin.

Nicole dutifully groaned, though she was, in turn, struggling not to laugh. “That one wasn’t even that good.”

Waverly flapped a dismissive hand, and as Nicole fetched her toothbrush Waverly started peeling off her coat, dumping the bloodstained item into a plastic-lined bin Nicole had by the sink for that exact purpose.

“They really got you, huh,” Nicole said.

“Yeah. Dammit, I _liked_ that coat.” She grabbed a washcloth and soap, wiping the blood off her face.

Nicole grinned, watching as Waverly carefully scrubbed blood out of her hairline. “You know, when people get all poetic and romantic about sharing a mirror with their lover, I feel like this isn’t what they mean.”

Waverly choked on a laugh, rinsing blood out of the washcloth. “Only in Purgatory, right?”

Nicole chuckled, but set to brushing her teeth, replacing the lingering flavor of dead grindylow with mint and foam. Waverly set the washcloth aside and stepped toward her shower, and Nicole’s gaze slid to her as she peeled her shirt up, baring soft skin in a sinuous bend that didn’t seem, Nicole thought, solely functional. Nicole watched in the mirrored reflection as Waverly arched her back and, with a slow ease that really seemed like it was mostly for show, pulled her shirt over her head and let her hair spill back down her neck and shoulders. Waverly extended an arm to drop the shirt in the bin after her coat, and then looked over her shoulder, reaching behind her to undo the clasp of her bra.

She raised one eyebrow, noting Nicole’s attention and the slack-jawed way she was still holding the toothbrush in her mouth.

“You’re staring, you hounddog,” she murmured.

Nicole swallowed hard and got mostly foam for her trouble, half-choking on her toothbrush. Waverly laughed and slipped over to stand behind her, looping her arms around Nicole’s middle. Nicole felt Waverly’s cheek rest against her back, and even through the sweatshirt she was warm from the scrubbing and the water.

“You’re um. Kinda distracting, baby,” Nicole noted, looking in the mirror even though all she could really see of her girlfriend was her arms, wrapped around koala-style.

“Well I guess you should focus harder,” Waverly said, her voice partially muffled by the sweatshirt. “Or else we’ll never get cleaned up.”

“Right,” Nicole said, stretching the word into a dry drawl. “This is _my_ fault now.” She focused on brushing her teeth again, or, she did, until Waverly’s hands slipped down to the hem of her sweatshirt and then tucked up beneath, her fingers warm and soft against Nicole’s skin. It was a gentle touch, an idle, _I just need to be close to you_ kind of contact, but it still seared heat across her nerves, still spread affection and adoration into every inch of her body.

“Mmhm,” Waverly said, nuzzling her nose against Nicole’s back through the sweatshirt. “All your fault.”

Nicole bent over the sink, laughing when Waverly bent with her to keep in contact. She rinsed out her mouth, then set about the surprisingly difficult task of turning around within the circle of Waverly’s arms so they were face to face. Waverly grinned up at her, resting her chin on Nicole’s chest, her smile bright and all faux innocence.

“Fancy meeting you here,” she murmured, and Nicole grinned, leaning down to press a kiss to Waverly’s mouth.

“I feel I should remind you I _live_ here,” Nicole teased.

Waverly tsked and pulled back, finally releasing Nicole to prop her fists on her hips, a pose that might have seemed more intimidating if she were not naked from the waist up. Nicole was relatively good about keeping her gaze on Waverly’s face.

 _Relatively_.

“Well! You’re no fun.”

“Really?” Nicole grinned and trailed a finger from the hollow of Waverly’s throat downward. Waverly’s fists slipped and her arms fell slack as Nicole traced a waving pattern down, down, sliding between her breasts and then lower still. “No fun at all?”

Waverly inhaled and Nicole’s finger tracked across quivering muscle to the button of her jeans.

“ _Nicole_ ,” she said, like a breath, like a command, like a prayer.

Nicole curled her finger into the waistband of her jeans and tugged, and Waverly stepped into her, her hands straying up Nicole’s arms to her shoulders. She tangled her hands into the loose hair at the back of Nicole’s neck, curling long strands around her fingers as Nicole undid the button of her pants and pushed the fabric down, sliding fingers along the curves of bone and muscle flexing beneath soft tan skin.

It was a joint effort to divest Waverly of the rest of her clothes, but Nicole didn’t really even look to make sure they made it into the bin when she dropped them behind her. She stripped off her sweatshirt and Waverly’s eyes tracked her like a falcon, hungry and hunting.

“You’re staring,” Nicole murmured, but given the distracted little _hmm_ noise Waverly made, she didn’t catch the joke for what it was. Waverly ran her hands down the slope of Nicole’s shoulders, her thumbs tracing the twin scars.

“Didn’t you want to shower?”

Waverly looked up, meeting her gaze, and blinked. “Oh. Yeah.”

Nicole grinned and shooed her toward the shower, resting a hand on the sink for balance as she stripped out of her sweatpants. “Go on.”

“Oh _fine_ ,” Waverly said, heaving a sigh, but she stepped into the shower anyway, pulling the curtain aside for a moment to watch as Nicole finished untangling her ankles from her pants and stepped in after her. Waverly’s gaze tracked down the length of her body, but as she got lower her expression faltered into something a little tense, a little pained. She reached out with one hand, her finger tracing the pinkish-white line on Nicole’s thigh where Loretta’s silver knife had driven deep into the muscle. Nicole shivered at the feather-light contact, and Waverly’s smile came back, bright and airy and only slightly worse for wear, like the sun poking out on a cloudy day.

“Actually, here,” Nicole said, moving around Waverly to put herself under the showerhead. “Till it warms up,” she explained, reaching back to twist the knob. Cold water hit her back and she made a sharp, small sound at the suddenness of it. It warmed up quickly enough, and in the meantime Waverly clapped both hands over her mouth, stifling a sharp, desperate laugh. Nicole frowned at her. “What?”

“You _barked!_ ” she said, between helpless giggles.

“I did not!”

“You did!” Nicole leaned to one side, letting the warm water spray unimpeded at Waverly’s face. Waverly spluttered and raised both hands to try to shield her face. “Nicole!” she protested, trying to glare while also squinting through the stream of water.

Nicole grinned and set her hands to Waverly’s shoulders, slowly pivoting them back so that Waverly was under the showerhead, and she smiled when Waverly let out a long, contented sigh.

Nicole picked through the bottles crowding one corner of her shower, finding the one Waverly had started keeping here, and poured some into her palm, spreading it over her fingers and sliding her hands into Waverly’s hair. Her girlfriend made a faint sound of surprise, and even as she tilted her head back, letting Nicole work the shampoo into her hair, her body drifted closer as if drawn by a magnet. The scent of it took her back, all the way back to the beginning, in Shorty’s, when Waverly was only wet from a bar tap, beautiful and beleaguered in the bit of morning light invading the bar through dusky, shuttered windows. All too well Nicole remembered that moment, when she’d pulled off Waverly’s shirt for her and wanted, wanted _everything_ , wanted to curl up around her and share the whole world with her.

And now here they were. In Nicole’s house. In her _shower_. Together, in a way that Nicole could literally only have dreamed of then. Even the wolf was quiet, not to the point of concern but almost like she was... overwhelmed, maybe. Overcome with awe by the way the world had turned around them. The events that had led to this. The impossible reality that Waverly had taken a chance on her—on _them_.

She took her time, working foam and strawberry-scented product through Waverly’s hair, rubbing in little circles with the tips of her fingers until Waverly let out a soft, mewling sound and pressed her body against Nicole’s. She was warmer now from the shower, wet skin sticking to hers in the best possible way.

“God, Nicole,” Waverly mumbled.

She hummed, the single note halfway a question.

“When’d you get so good at this.”

Nicole smiled, but didn’t really know how to answer her question. This was new, this closeness. This domesticity. Her college girlfriends had been nice but they had been school things, convenient, heartfelt, sure, but inherently transient. And Shae had been... well. Shae. Shae had been all physicality, all raging inferno, all fire and lightning. Not that it wasn’t fun. But it _was_ a bit harder to sustain once there were silver-white bite scars and a yawning chasm of exposed secrets to consider.

“When?” she echoed, and Waverly didn’t nod, didn’t move, but made a faint sound of confirmation. “Now, baby. Just right now.”

Waverly groaned and slid her hands to the lower curve of Nicole’s back, holding loosely to her as if afraid she’d pull away and disappear. The tips of her fingers brushed over the ridges of bone and muscle and Nicole shivered, maybe not entirely from the chill of air on wet skin. Nicole let the water clean off her hands, then reached up to pluck the nozzle from its clip, rinsing Waverly’s hair and tilting Waverly’s head back with one hand to make sure the water stayed off her face.

“Somehow I always forget yours is handheld,” Waverly mumbled, and Nicole chuckled at the lazy, comfortable warmth coiling in Waverly’s voice like a purring cat.

“It comes in handy,” Nicole said, agreeing, but she trailed off as a thought sparked, heat and something just a bit like hunger roaring down her spine to coil hot and aching in her belly, and the wolf let out a rumbling sound of interest that actually echoed a bit off the shower walls.

That made Waverly crack one eye open, her lips curling into a sly little smile. “Uh-oh. If it caught interest with _both_ of you it _must_ be good.”

Nicole grinned and let her arm rest across Waverly’s shoulders, so that the showerhead was curled over her, warm water coursing down over Waverly’s chest. She leaned closer, nosing along the cool, damp line of Waverly’s jaw, her voice low and a bit huskier than she’d really intended.

“Oh, just got an idea. Think you might like it.”

“I trust you,” Waverly murmured, without prompting and without hesitation.

Nicole pressed her lips to the soft, smooth skin just in front of her and Waverly tilted her head back to give her space, the wolf rumbling in her chest again at the inherent permission, the inherent _gift_ of it.

“Good,” Nicole breathed, and took the nozzle in her other hand, turning them a little more, pressing closer to guide Waverly backward. “Wall’s cold,” she warned, and Waverly glanced sideways, checking distance, letting out a tiny squeak as her shoulders touched cool acrylic. She wriggled, adjusting to the temperature, and Nicole raised the nozzle, letting the warm water wash down her back and the wall behind her, to try and warm them faster. Waverly let out a soft, amused laugh, but settled.

“So,” Waverly said, draping her arms over Nicole’s shoulders and entwining her fingers into curls of crimson hair that, wet, had turned to burnished copper. Twice her hand caught in the damp strands and tugged, and Nicole growled at the sensation of it, licking her lips as Waverly asked, “What exactly did you have in mind?”

“Mm, do you want me to tell you, or...” Nicole leaned in against her, bending to trace her nose down the column of Waverly’s neck. She slid her tongue along damp skin, licking away droplets of water as she went, and Waverly let out a languid sigh, tilting her head back against the wall and letting her hands stray down over Nicole’s shoulders. Her nails drew idle patterns across the curve of Nicole’s back.

Nicole was pretty sure that if someone were to ask her, Waverly would insist that she liked surprises just fine. But as she had said from the beginning, she was a planner, and her preferences showed through in the little things. She generally didn’t suggest surprises for other people, except that one time with the cheerleading uniform; she never tried to plan surprise parties for anyone; and, though perhaps this wasn’t exactly unexpected in an Earp, she tended to spook a little more than was necessary when it came to suspense and jump scares. To the point that after the first couple movie nights, Nicole started being a little more careful picking what they’d watch together.

So when Waverly let out a breath, bit her lip, and whispered “ _Surprise me,_ ” Nicole took it in the spirit in which it was given: a gesture of adoration, of appreciation, of so much _trust_ it made Nicole feel a bit dizzy.

She let her smile curve in the hollow of Waverly’s throat, so she’d feel it. She traced her teeth, sharp but gentle, never biting, never even scratching, across her collarbone, and Waverly’s nails dug into her back in response, an unwitting match, threat for threat. Nicole allowed herself a low growl that made Waverly’s breath hitch and slid her free arm around Waverly’s waist. She slowly trailed her other hand downward along the length of Waverly’s body, letting the water shift, coursing down over her ribs to the bend of her waist and finally to her hip. Nicole gripped her arm a little tighter and Waverly squirmed under that single touch, spreading her feet a little wider in anticipation.

“I’ve got you,” Nicole murmured, and Waverly nodded, blind and distracted. The pressure of her hand had said it already, but words never hurt, especially not considering the way it made Waverly sigh her name, aching and overwrought.

Waverly’s breath caught, swept up in a thought. “Wait, are you...?”

Nicole grinned, pleased beyond words at how her brilliant girl was never more than a half-step behind. She didn’t answer, just let her hand stray inward, directing the showerhead where Waverly needed her most. Nicole pressed her lips over Waverly’s, muffling the raw, strangled noise she made, and grinned into the kiss as it turned clumsy and urgent. Waverly’s nails scratched across her shoulders again and their teeth clicked as Waverly clawed at her and made a high, desperate noise into her mouth. Nicole held her close, watching and listening as the pulsing, erratic pressure of the water pulled Waverly apart at the seams.

The wolf simmered under Nicole’s skin like a brushfire. Together, unplanned but in almost eerie sync, they picked up a low, possessive noise that wasn’t quite growl but wasn’t quite anything else. It purred in her throat like a racecar engine and Waverly tilted her head back, chewing on her lip. Nicole reveled in the sound of her voice as Waverly whimpered her name in a breathless, desperate chant, her whole body twitching and flexing under the unrelenting pressure of the water playing against her flesh.

“Shit, _Nicole_ , baby, oh god—”

Nicole leaned into her, pinning her against the wall with the weight of her body. She shifted her hand, let her knuckles find the inner curve of Waverly’s thigh, stroking over heated skin. The sound of Waverly’s soft, breathless cry made Nicole’s vision blur, taking on just a tint of gold. Desire _pulled_ at her whole body, her senses narrowing to a single point: Waverly. She slid her knuckles just a bit higher, using the contact as a signpost to guide her fingers closer until the showerhead was barely an inch away from Waverly’s skin. With a soft sound of desperation Waverly hitched her other leg to curl over Nicole’s hip, holding closer to her, so that Nicole felt every twitch, every shift and squirm. She pressed a haphazard, almost clumsy kiss to Waverly’s mouth, tugging at Waverly’s lip with her teeth.

“That’s it, baby,” Nicole whispered, watching Waverly’s face. Waverly whimpered, even just at the sound of Nicole’s voice, and her nails dug hard into Nicole’s shoulders as she scrabbled, desperate, for an anchor.

Nicole etched every detail into her memory. The tiny lines forming where Waverly’s eyebrows had drawn together, twisted in effort. The teethmarks she’d left in her bottom lip. The strain around her eyes where she’d squeezed them shut. The desperate panting as she struggled for a full breath, her mouth hanging open. The loops of hair sticking in wet curls to her forehead, her cheeks, her ears. The red flush of her skin—hot water or arousal, who could say for sure?

“Waves.”

“Yes,” Waverly hissed, drawing out the word until Nicole couldn’t quite tell if it was an answer or just a reaction. Nicole felt Waverly’s body bucking, her hips rocking against the ephemeral pressure of the water. The restless, desperate motion of it made her grin, reckless and wolfish and pleased. Waverly slid her hand up, caught a handful of Nicole’s hair and _pulled_ , and it made her breath catch, sharp and hot in her chest, letting out a low noise that made Waverly bare her teeth in a feral grin. She _ached_ and some part of her was all panting, desperate animal—some strange amalgamation of her and the wolf both.

 _Patience_ , she told herself, though it burned to even think it.

Nicole kissed slowly up the slope of her jaw to her ear. “I’ve got you, Waves.”

“Oh god—”

She let the words rumble in her chest, half-wolf and all-hunger. “Go ahead, baby.”

Waverly was, in all the ways that mattered, a force of nature. As soon as Nicole said it she was listening, _hearing_. Her whole body tried to curve around Nicole, her nails biting hard enough into Nicole’s back to break skin, but Nicole kept her pinned, her arm tight around Waverly’s waist and her shoulder heavy and firm against Waverly’s chest. Waverly shook and spasmed against the wall, a soft, desperate moan echoing in the relatively small space, and Nicole held her, waiting, watching.

A thought roared through her, an echo of the heat still simmering in her belly. She chewed on her lip. It would be so easy to bite down on the supple slope of Waverly’s exposed shoulder, the long, taut curve where neck and shoulder met. She could make Waverly _hers_ , mark her as her own. Just as quickly as it came, she wrestled that thought aside. Waverly _was_ hers, no mark required. She pressed a kiss there instead, scraping her teeth harmlessly across tender skin, earning a tortured little cry for her trouble.

Only after a long, beautiful minute did Waverly flinch and squirm and reach down, fingers finding Nicole’s wrist and tugging. She chuckled, moving her hand and the nozzle with it so that the water was directed somewhere toward her ankle. Waverly let her leg slide down off Nicole’s, her whole body resting loose and a bit limp against the wall of the shower. She felt heavy and slack, and Nicole was pretty sure that if it weren’t for the arm she had around Waverly’s waist, she’d have oozed down to the floor by now.

“God, Nicole,” Waverly mumbled.

“Yeah?”

Waverly learned her head forward until she could press her lips to Nicole’s skin in a haphazard, distracted string of kisses, charting the curve of Nicole’s breast with her mouth, her lips lingering momentarily on the scar before moving past it.

“That good, huh?” Nicole said.

“Arrogant dog,” Waverly mumbled, and leaned against her more heavily, comfortable and lethargic from the hot water, the steam, and the obvious.

“Mmhm!” Nicole said, bright as a bonfire.

“Gimme a minute,” Waverly said, her hands wandering. Her fingers strayed across the gouges she’d left and Nicole hissed at the pressure on torn skin, the burn of it startling and delicious in part for its novelty. “An’ then the tables turn.”

Nicole grinned and reached up to press the showerhead back into its clip.

“I think I can live with that.”


End file.
